by Barnadhya Rwitam

Honest people DO EXIST!

We live in a world of thugs. If you are not careful, you are most likely to be cheated by someone. Many say that good and honest people have almost become extinct. But something happened today, that made me realise that honest people do exist.

It was around noon that I and a friend of mine entered a restaurant for lunch. We ordered our food and got engrossed in a conversation regarding our work. A bit later, we switched to our smartphones to have a look at the news and regular updates. Food arrived and we had it to our fill. Paying the bill, we stepped out of the restaurant. Just as we were about to cross the road, a waiter of the restaurant rushed towards us and handed over something to my friend. To my surprise, it was his phone that he had just left back in a chair! The waiter smiled as he handed over the gadget. We thanked him and crossed the road; we were in a hurry then (after we had just realised that we were getting late for work).

Now the restaurant where we had lunch is not a big one. And looking at the waiter you can say he is in his early twenties, earning in a month a salary which is less than the price of my friend’s phone. He could have easily kept the phone for himself and then sold it to someone for some bucks. Any price would have been a good price, having got the phone for free. But he chose not to do that and stick to his honesty.

Later in the day, I and my friend discussed about the incident. I wanted to offer him something for his honesty. But being in a state of hurry, we could not do that. However, we both decided that tomorrow (or as soon as possible), we will go to the same restaurant and reward him something; maybe a chocolate, a few bucks or something like that (we have not decided it yet).

I learned a lot from this waiter. He was not rich. Yet he was not greedy like many. Maybe he had a good upbringing. Or maybe he was just honest. In deed, honest people do exist!